Struggling is not failure

These are trying times. For those confined to their homes or in quarantine, the struggle to come to terms with lack of social contact, is a difficult pill to swallow. However, that is nothing compared to the struggles of those who have lost their source of income; be it the small trader, marginal businessmen but mainly the daily wage earners. The struggle becomes worse because not too long ago, everyone was relatively much more comfortable and suddenly everyone was unceremoniously knocked off their comfortable perch, by an unseen, lethal and yet to be controlled menace.

At times, this unexpected, and as of now, unending struggle, to regain our confidence and our future seems impossible to cope with. That is when hope begins to fade, struggles seem to be mounting and an inexplicable fear of failing, overwhelms us. Yet if one were to take a look at the image representing this post, the beauty of the blooming flower, that seems to have taken roots in a parched land, offers hope, gives one confidence that the struggle will yield results soon.

When struggling, it is important to bear in mind that, ‘ if one continues to do what one has always done, the results would be what one has always got’. In the current scenario, this is a double edged sword; you may not get any results, or you may get some results in the end, but it may be too little, too late. So the next alternative is to think of doing something different, in the hope that you may get different results, and hopefully they would be a lot better, and a lot faster than expected. The challenge is not to give up, fear failure and concede defeat. Notice how the flower has bloomed by finding a crack in the dry earth; look for such cracks and opportunities to bloom again.

A struggle requires patience. However, one cannot just keep waiting; one must be keep doing something planned and practical, that should hopefully get you the results, you hope for. The fruits of your effort could take time to fructify, but the effort must not be discarded, nor should it be compromised by attempting foolish short cuts. Like the seed that germinates underground in the dark even in a parched land, the struggle should go on and it will then grow from beneath the soil to bloom. Look at your struggles as a journey through a long tunnel; if you give up and you fail to keep going, you won’t exit the tunnel; keep going and you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

A struggle is often lonely. You may have family, friends and acquaintances around. At times you are all alone. The reality is that no one will ever be able to fully empathize or understand your struggle. In fact, there could be many who could be critical, mean, unhelpful and downright hurtful to you as your struggle. If lucky there will be a few who encourage and push you along but walking the talk is a something you have to do on your own steam. Look at the picture to see how your struggle when successful will turn out; beautiful, refreshing and victorious. Your lonely struggle is never a struggle alone if you have your spirit of resilience and the will to succeed accompanying you.

Try these:

Many of you who are reading this post may be struggling to cope with the massive disruption in their life. Students who have yet to give their exams ( which are long delayed); students whose admissions are on hold; students whose on campus classes are now threatened; teachers who have to adapt to the new teaching styles; people who have lost their jobs or livelihood. Do not just brood over your problems. Write down your various alternatives. Seek help. Change tracks. Keep your momentum going, so that you are not stagnant, stunned and/ or stupefied by the situation.
Maybe you are struggling to lose weight or to enhance your income or to keep your relationships on even keel. Whatever your struggle take a leaf out of the plant in the picture above (there is only a flower I know) and don’t give up.
If you can, do see the following movies to understand how people struggled to beat the odds.